According to Transparency International’s 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine ranks 144th (out of 176 countries and territories)
The Law “On Preventing and Combating Corruption”, the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and the State Program on Preventing and Combating Corruption for 2011-2015 have not reduced corruption in Ukraine, experts say. Independent anti-corruption monitoring is being performed by Transparency International Ukraine (TORO Creative Union) in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian Institute for Public Policy, Open Society Foundation, Center for Political and Legal Reforms, Philosophy of Heart NGO, and Our Right Legal Information Center with the support of the MATRA Program of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine and the International Renaissance Foundation’s Civil Society and Good Governance Program.
Experts say that corruption makes it difficult to attract foreign investment to Ukraine. They also point out that the “corruption tax” is paid not only by businesses, but also passed down to consumers through increased prices for products, services and real estate.
According to the results of a study conducted by two NGOs, the Anti-Corruption Council of Ukraine and European Choice, Ukrainians spend 3-10 million hryvnias every day on bribes just for their children, with hospitals, schools and kindergartens demanding the most. The smallest bribe was 50 hryvnias a month “for being nice to a child” in a kindergarten, while the largest amounted to 8000 hryvnias to gain admission to the first grade in a Kyiv lyceum. Experts say that Ukrainians are “instilled with bribery” from the maternity ward – 90% of births require an unofficial payment ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the complexity of the delivery.
To address the problem, experts believe the public should have access to the state register of those involved in corruption, e-government technology should be widely introduced for administrative public services, legal entities should be held criminally responsibility for corruption, officials should declare their assets and this requirement be enforced, and procedures should be improved for the confiscation of property obtained illegally.
According to Transparency International’s 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine ranks 144th (out of 176 countries and territories), putting it in the same group with countries such as Congo and Kenya.
Contacts:
Anti-Corruption Council of Ukraine
Bohdan Yakymyuk
(+380 44) 361 78 28
pr@ti-ukraine.org
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The goal of the Civil Society and Good Governance Program is to promote development of a system to protect the rights of public and municipal service consumers and to support NGO policy capacity building.
